TeXtreme PRO 3-spoke Wheel

Simon Whiten

Shimano launch new TeXtreme PRO 3-spoke wheel

PRO has launched what is claimed to be the fastest time trial wheel in the world and it’s a 3-spoke design.

The new PRO trispoke wheel was unveiled and first used at the opening team time trial at the Vuelta a España. It was created with input from Team Sky, something PRO call ‘Co Creation’, so it should be spot on.
 

 
It is reinforced by TeXtreme, a carbon we have discussed before in relation to both Felt and Kemo bikes, which lends a distinctive checkerboard pattern to the products it’s used in. TeXtreme is proving popular in the bike industry. It is based on using Spread Tows, instead of yarns, to achieve lighter weight, increased stiffness and higher strength compared to other carbon fibres. They claim to be able to create 20-30% lighter products, but with improved mechanical properties and superior surface smoothness.

Leon Van Strien, Product Manager at PRO, was keen to stress that, “With the selection of materials, we’ve been extremely picky. We used a mix of high level uni-directional (UD) fibers and Spread Tow fabrics. The outside TeXtreme layers have a double function. They keep the weight down and give a match in appearance with our rear TeXtreme disc wheel.”

The rim section is 65mm deep, whilst width is a very wide 28mm at the braking surface. The wheel weighs in at 740g and to prevent interrupting the air flow the valve is positioned behind one of the spokes. Having already worked together to produce the 975g PRO TeXtreme disc wheel Strien mentions above, the engineers at PRO and the Team Sky riders were well set-up to develop the wheel, both in terms of use of materials and tuning ride characteristics.
 

 
[rps-include blog=127.0.0.1 post=29481]
 

PRO Website